If you haven’t heard, the word is out on what the Fox network plans to charge for a :30 second commercial spot in this year’s Super Bowl.

According to an article in Variety, advertisers will be asked to write a $4 million dollar check for just one half-minute long chunk of your attention.

Long before you’ll experience this annual onslaught of advertising, and all in one evening, an elite group of consumers around the country in select markets will be getting the ultimate sneak peek. Yep, with all that money on the line, advertisers will be enlisting focus group panels to first give their ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to these creative brand messages. With that feedback in hand, the spots will then be tweaked and sweetened to match what the groups deem as successful, memorable and most importantly actionable marketing messages once they land in your living room. The ‘actionable marketing message’ part means the crafty commercials will likely make you go out and consume that product or service.

SO WHAT IS YOUR SUPER STRATEGY?

Let’s face it, you probably aren’t going to go out and spend $4 million on a :30 second spot. Probably Joe? OK, you’re not.

Still, you spend money to market your business. And that’s why you should have your own super strategy to ensure your customers are being super-served in ways your competitors just can’t match. Every day of the year. Not just during football season.

Depending on your product or service, it may be time to focus group test any number of aspects of your offerings.

Some areas worth closer examination include:

Effectiveness of your advertising

Packaging of your product (big talk these days about whether companies are being responsible on a sustainability level)

Website effectiveness

Strength of your brand (brand loyalty)

Customer satisfaction

Where you are vulnerable

The list could go on and on. And it does. The point is, the success of your business relies heavily on how well you know your market. We specialize in asking the right questions and in the right venue, to help you get there. So set a game plan for success. As always, we’re here to huddle up and help. Contact Us! 888-703-4636.

It’s about that time of year when summer vacations are winding down and families are settling back into their regular routines.

Think of your trip for a moment. If you are like most people, you probably had a detailed plan locked-in well in advance of your departure date and it was probably as thorough as a pre-launch checklist at NASA. Why? Because you wanted to make sure the journey didn’t end up being the inspiration for another Chevy Chase Vacation movie.

Bottom line, you had a vision for your vacation.

So now that the trip (and it’s great memories) are in your rear view mirror, it’s time to buck up and ask yourself a couple of questions about your business: How much time and planning have I put into making my business rock? (I hope the answer is “at least equal to or greater than the summer trip”). And, what am I basing my game plan on?

I will tell you what I tell my clients. Here it is and it is rarely a wrong answer. It all starts with the research. Shockingly, many businesses launch without having done any research at all. None! Nada! Zilch! And lots of companies don’t make research an important part of their strategy even after they are up and running.

Sure, some businesses find success by taking a gamble or ‘going on gut.’ The question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to take that kind of risk. If you do, then I wish you luck. Thanks for stopping by! If you want to take a more conservative and careful approach, then the rest of this article is for you.

When I start working with a client I don’t berate them about what I see as a misstep of launching (or introducing a new product line) without a strategy based in research. It’s not about the past. It’s about what we can do from this point forward.

Instead, we immediately sit down and get real by having an honest discussion about where they want to take their business. I tell them research is what helps them get a true picture of who their customers are. It helps them to identify the public perception of their business, and in some cases, it underscores to businesses that they are, unfortunately, not even thought of in the general marketplace. Put simply, solid research gives you a baseline and helps to take much of the guesswork out of how to grow the business. It helps businesses to actually create a vision, capitalize on their strengths and make some hard decisions in areas where they may be vulnerable.

There is an old saying that goes, “There is nothing more expensive than a missed opportunity.” Used in the research realm, it translates to something probably less memorable as a quote — but powerful as a practice to follow: “Know everything you can possibly know about your business and industry”. That means invest in research. And then, do something with that research. Sadly, some companies take the lead, do the research, and then let the data sit on a shelf collecting dust. And if you need a little extra motivation, just remember, if you’re not doing research your competitor probably is.

If you manage a brand and need a little inspiration, take a look at this clip. Great insights from some of the best marketing minds around. The clip starts with a brief discussion about women in leadership roles. It’s worth the less than 5 minutes it will take to watch it. Enjoy.

When I was growing up, we used to fight over the remote control to the TV. Not knock-down drag out fist fights. No, we employed more subtle and strategic methods, like hiding the remote from the others under a fluffy accent pillow on the couch. Back then, victory belonged to the one who could control what shows came out of that large and heavy box across from the sofa. And make no mistake about it; your symbol of control was control of the remote.

Yes, I know. Childish. But then again, there were more children in the home than adults. And by the way, why didn’t one of us without possession of the remote ever realize that you could change the channel by simply getting up, walking over to the TV and turning the clunky dial to what you wanted to watch? Take THAT, remote hoarder!

We really didn’t think that through.

My guess is there is probably less gamesmanship in most homes these days — at least as it relates to coveting control of the clicker.

And that is due in large part to the convenience of content consumption through tablets and mobile devices. Yes, as you read this blog, there are probably family rooms across America that have three or four people in the same room — all-consuming different TV shows on different devices. If you ask me, I think that’s great! My only caveat is that I hope those families are also carving out other quality time to actually talk to each other.

What we consume and why we consume TV programming on these alternative devices is the subject of a new study produced for the Council for Research Excellence. The full report called “TV Untethered” will be presented next week at a conference in New York. But dribs and drabs of the findings are being released in advance of the event.

“The majority of mobile TV viewing occasions — 82% of tablet and 64% of smart phone — occurs in the home, according to a new study. And the primary driver for consumers watching video on mobile devices is convenience — not to avoid advertising.”

I would have thought avoiding advertising would be a strong motivation for tablet/mobile viewing. At the same time, I am actually glad it’s not. After all, advertisers deserve to have their messages heard too. And many of them find creative ways to do so in these other environments – for example, a TV show is shown (in tablet/on mobile) with “limited commercial interruption.” A win/win for viewers and advertisers.

Also of note from the study, participants overwhelmingly chose dramas and comedies as top genres for tablet/mobile programming. News content was low on the interest level for viewers using these platforms but not surprisingly, news fared much better for viewers of traditional TV sets.

I still watch more TV on an actual TV, but I do find myself using my iPad from time to time. I have not yet watched a TV show on my smart phone.

I’d love to know your thoughts on the few facts I’ve shared from the CRE study and more importantly, please sound off and let me know how tablets and mobile have (or have not) changed your own personal TV viewing habits.

By the way, when I had control of the remote back in the day, my family was forced to watch CHiPs, Love Boat, Soap, Happy Days and Welcome Back Kotter.

I have checked Amazon.com. I’ve walked the aisles in all the big box retailers. I’ve even checked out some garage sales. And still, I cannot find this thing called lightning in a bottle.

The stuff must be rare!

In the business world that’s certainly a true statement. It exists, just not as frequently as we’d like to think.

What is not in short supply? Great (or at least ‘good’) ideas on how to grow a business or brand, and smart strategies to bring those ideas to market.

Many times though, the third piece is missing; simultaneous and superlative execution of all of the above. And let’s face it — all of the above are required. And all of them take time.

I can’t take credit for this but I do want to share it. It’s a great line. And it goes like this: “Bad or poorly executed ideas have nowhere to hide.” I got that from an article on the website strategy+business.

And I believe it.

I will tell you, that the old ‘gut instinct’ or that ‘hunch’ or that ‘feeling in my bones’ are probably not the kinds of things you want to base major decisions on. It’s a little like gambling in Vegas — it can be a crap shoot.

When businesses ask me to help them with a brand re-launch or the introduction of a new product, I tell them what I will tell you here and now.

Have a good sense of what your customers see as your greatest customer value proposition (not YOUR assesment — theirs). By way of example, there is a reason (my customer value proposition) why I will drive 32.6 miles for my favorite pizza and not think twice about it.

Always be in a constant mode of super-serving your customers’ needs.

Consider all the things you do well. And then ask, “What are the systems and processes tied to those initiatives that can also be applied to other growth opportunities for my business?”

Look across the street — to your competitors and determine the areas where they lead and where they are soft. Your opportunity may rest in knowing how to attract their least satisfied customers.

Research! Research! Research!

That last one is an important one. It’s not enough anymore to simply be ‘open for business’. To succeed, or lead in a category, you need to have a never-ending thirst for knowledge. And that’s where the qualitative research expertise of Joe Hengemuehler Consulting can help. So give us a call and tell us about the research project you’d like to start. We can help. 888-703-4636.

Oh, and I couldn’t resist. Here’s an image of that elusive lightning in a bottle.

It may be a brand that isn’t resonating. It may be a curiosity about which ad will cut through to consumers the fastest and with the most lasting impact. Or, it may be about how consumers feel about the company’s customer service. I’ve even had clients who want to go deep on the shape of the packaging of their product.

While the problems (let’s call them challenges from this point forward) that businesses face are varied, in most cases, each client is looking for the exact same thing from us; to help them unravel and reveal the truth about what motivates their current customer base and what might attract new business.

When clients come to us, one of the first things we do is put on our reporter’s hat. We start asking questions. Lots of questions: When this research project is done, what’s the most important thing you want to know about your own business? What will you do with the information you learn? In what areas do you see yourself as vulnerable? [We never ask the Barbara Walters question ‘If you could be a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”]

In a reporter’s world, all those questions would end up in a nicely packaged story told to television viewers at 6pm. “In 3, 2, 1, cue talent!”

In our world of qualitative research, those questions are just the beginning. We take the information and design a highly strategic discussion guide to be used in the focus groups.

For us, the focus groups are ‘show time’. It’s where we start to find truth. And I will tell you, there is nothing more gratifying than building a discussion guide that results in answers and insights that a client can act upon.

Let’s be honest. The insights aren’t always what the client wants to hear. But that’s why we do research. You’re being intentional about asking people to tell you what you need to hear so that you can grow your business and strengthen your brand. We all want to hear we’re great. It’s good — well, it’s great for the ego. But it doesn’t always help us forge ahead.

My advice to clients is consistent: You’ve already taken a courageous first step. You’ve commissioned a research project. The next step – and arguably the most courageous one of all, is to do something with the findings. To have information and do nothing with it is like a reporter missing the story of the day. No one wants to get scooped –especially when the success of your business and your brand is on the line.

I can’t share them here though. That’s because this blog is ‘professional’ (said with a sort of ‘Grey Poupon’ TV commercial style accent). More on that in a moment.

I do market research for a living. And I can tell you that one popular topic that companies like to research a lot — is customer service. Businesses want to know how you feel about, well, about them. Specifically, how polite and knowledgable their representatives are, how satisfied you are when they try to resolve issues and whether you will be a return customer. In some very rare cases, they also want to know the height of the tree that’s grown in your backyard during the span of time you sat patiently on hold waiting for an actual human being to come on the line. OK, maybe not the last one.

The point is, customer service can make or break a business.

I had my own little customer service stress session recently. It was with the company that designed my business website. I’ll make up a name so as to disguise the real identity of the company. For sensitivity sake, I will call this website company “Proceed Father”.

And let’s be clear. The team over at “Proceed Father” really cares about my total satisfaction. In fact, each of the three representatives I spoke with over the past month, tells me that at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of each phone call.

What I learned about big web design companies — at least ones based in Scottsdale, is that they are very, very busy people. I know because they always tell me. And that’s why they haven’t gotten to my issue yet. But they will! Just not now. Or tomorrow.

Look, it’s hard making everyone happy. I get it. Still, there are companies out there that model excellent customer service. They have much to teach the others.

This article outlines some of those lessons in bold ways that should get the attention of business owners and managers everywhere and maybe even force some meetings to discuss this important aspect of running a business. The article is from just about a year ago. I haven’t seen a 2013 update to it so the stats are probably a little off from current reality, but probably not by much. You’ll still get the picture.

Give it a read.

Here’s where you might expect me to ask you about your own customer service horror stories. Actually, I’d rather you share the experiences that impressed you. Share the ones that others can read and learn from. And thanks!